Strategies for Behavior Development

Starting a new school year brings excitement and uncertainty. As a parent, your support can turn first-day nerves into confidence. These seven tips focus on real-life routines and simple tools you can use right away.

1. Notice Stress Signals Early

Children rarely say “I feel overwhelmed” direct...

Does your child get fighting mad when it is time to go to bed? If so, you're not alone. 

For many kids, the shift from play to sleep isn’t just a relaxing bedtime routine or as simple as deciding it is time to sleep. It’s a full-body transition that is jarring and fought with tears, meltdowns, and ...

Research shows that nearly half of all children struggle with sleep, and the numbers are even higher for the populations occupational therapy practitioners serve. Childhood sleep problems are a public health epidemic occupational therapists are uniquely qualified to address. As an occupational thera...

Billy stomps into the house and collapses onto the couch in a stupor. Or, he gets home and is climbing the walls! His stimulant medication has worn off, and the crash is hitting hard: irritability spikes, focus vanishes, and tears follow. How are you supposed to get him to do his homework, chores, o...

Every July 4th, my husband and our 17-year-old head off to the neighborhood barbecue while my 19-year-old, our scaredy dog, and I turn our living room into a cool, quiet haven. I used to force myself to smile through fireworks smoke that stung my nose and pretend hotdogs didn’t taste gross or make m...

When glasses or eye patching are prescribed by your child's eye doctor, consistent wear is not optional—it’s a medical necessity. These tools support visual development, treat conditions like amblyopia, and prevent long-term disability. But for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, anything unfamiliar...

I noticed something that comes naturally to me today with a few of my kids. I frequently say “sit safe”. We all know those kids—the ones who rock so far back that it seems they're daring gravity to take them out. Instead of instructing them to "sit still" on chairs that sometimes double as rockers (...

Have you ever walked away from a live rock concert feeling completely spent? I have. As an Autistic adult who loves the energy of rock and metal music, I know firsthand how electrifying yet exhausting these experiences can be. And it isn’t just the concerts—attending a friend’s wedding can trigger t...

Impulse control—the ability to pause, think, and act intentionally rather than reactively—is an essential skill for children to learn as they grow. For some kids, managing impulses can be especially challenging, often manifesting as difficulty waiting their turn, interrupting others, or struggling t...

If you’ve spent time in the autistic community, you may have heard the term gestalt language learner or gestalt language processors. This describes individuals who acquire language in chunks or “scripts” rather than learning one word at a time. What you may not know is that gestalt processing extend...

Could you run a marathon today? I certainly can’t! For most of us, the answer is a resounding “no.” Running a marathon requires training, patience, and persistence. Interestingly, waiting shares many of these same principles. Just as running a marathon is a skill that must be developed over time, so...

Picture this: Little Emma is eagerly waiting to go to the park. When her mom says, "We'll go later," Emma bursts into tears, convinced that "later" means "never." This meltdown highlights a common issue for many children—difficulties with chronoception, or the sense of time perception.

Chronoceptio...